An American Hero

This week on HBO's Inside the NFL the subject of Pat Tillman's death was featured. For those unfamiliar, Pat Tillman decided to walk away from the NFL during the prime of his career to join the Marines and defend his country in the aftermath of 9/11. Literally Pat Tillman gave up millions for the opportunity to bring Osama Bin Laden home. Tragically on April 22, 2004 in Afghanistan, Pat Tillman was killed in action. The Pentagon stated that Tillman was killed in a heroic charge protecting his fellow Marines during an ambush from enemy combatants. These initial reports proved to be untrue as it became clear that Tillman was taken down as a result of friendly fire. Unfortunately friendly fire is something that happens during the course of any war, but even though the military knew that the initial reports to the media were untrue they did nothing to correct the misinformation. A month after Tillman’s funeral the Pentagon changed its story stating that Tillman’s death was due to friendly fire aggravated by the intensity of the firefight. It was later learned that no hostile forces were involved and that two allied groups fired on in confusion over an exploded mine. It becomes obvious that the Pentagon, whether to avoid embarrassment or to exploit Tillman’s death, was less than forthright to the Tillman Family.

As a result the Tillman family is unable to bring closure in dealing with their son's death. It is unfortunate in every aspect. To Pat Tillman’s family and friends it is important that they know the truth, and I hope they can get that when the Pentagon's investigation concludes at the end of the month. To the general public it's more important to focus on how Pat Tillman led his life, not his death. Regardless of the circumstances, Pat Tillman’s story is one of a man who demonstrated self sacrifice and courage. I, for one, will always keep that in perspective. Pat Tillman remains my hero.

Kirby Puckett
1960-2006

"I was told I would never make it because I'm too short. Well, I'm still too short, but I've got 10 All-Star games, two World Series championships, and I'm a very happy and contented guy. It doesn't matter what your height is, it's what's in your heart."

– Puckett, at his 1996 retirement press conference.

    Year     Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI     BA    OBP   SLG  TB

    1984    MIN AL 128  557   63  165  12  5   0   31    .296  .320  .336  187
    1985    MIN AL 161  691   80  199  29 13   4   74    .288  .330  .385  266
    1986    MIN AL 161  680  119  223  37  6  31   96    .328  .366  .537  365
    1987    MIN AL 157  624   96  207  32  5  28   99    .332  .367  .534  333  
    1988    MIN AL 158  657  109  234  42  5  24  121    .356  .375  .545  358  
    1989    MIN AL 159  635   75  215  45  4   9   85    .339  .379  .465  295  
    1990    MIN AL 146  551   82  164  40  3  12   80    .298  .365  .446  246
    1991    MIN AL 152  611   92  195  29  6  15   89    .319  .352  .460  281
    1992    MIN AL 160  639  104  210  38  4  19  110    .329  .374  .490  313
    1993    MIN AL 156  622   89  184  39  3  22   89    .296  .349  .474  295
    1994    MIN AL 108  439   79  139  32  3  20  112    .317  .362  .540  237
    1995    MIN AL 137  538   83  169  39  0  23   99    .314  .379  .515  277   

Pete's Worse Bet

In 1970 I saw my first major league baseball game at Crosley Field. To be honest I don't remember much of the game, but I do remember the walking up to the gate, the poles used to support the upper grandstand and the excitement of the crowd. I was 5 years old at the time and my love affair with the Cincinnati Reds began with that one game.

When you are 5 years old the entire world is bigger than you, but nothing was bigger than the Big Red Machine. Johnny Bench, Tony Perez and Pete Rose, these guys were my heroes and they could do no wrong! Years pass and you begin to realize that the heroes you held so high are merely human, imperfect in every sense as we all are. No one typifies this point more so than Peter Edward Rose. Pete Rose is about as human as it gets.

The days leading up to August 24th, 1989, when Pete was banished from baseball, were the craziest days that Cincinnati had ever seen. This was when 24 hour news reporting was beginning to hit stride and filling air time was at a premium. I remember going to a Reds game in late July of '89 and seeing a city of satellite dishes fill the plaza at Riverfront Stadium and parade down towards Mehring Way. Rumors and allegations were flying everywhere, there was no escaping the Pete Rose gambling story. It wasn't a surprise to see your neighbor, grade school teacher or knothole coach being interrogated by a TV reporter on how Pete Rose affected their lives. Until I witnessed the O.J. Trial I never saw news agencies hunger for more angles to a story than the Pete Rose gambling scandal.

Anyone who knows me can attest that the 14 years following Bart Giamatti's banishment decree I stood by my fallen hero and defended him at every opportunity. Then in January of 2004 Pete Rose finally admitted that he bet on baseball including games involving the Cincinnati Reds. The admission also came with an apology. Pete was sorry for lying to his fans and to the game of baseball. I was crushed but was able to admit to myself that Pete Rose broke the cardinal rule of baseball, albiet 14 years too late. Before this, so long as there was a mere doubt of Pete's guilt, I was hoping that he would be reinstated to the game that made him my hero. Now that Pete Rose has admitted he put the integrity of the game in jeopardy and any doubts of innocence that may have existed are gone, I feel that he should be banned for life.

But there is something to this story that nags at me, why after 14 years of fierce denials would Pete finally come clean to the baseball world and his fans? This month, Phillies slugger and Pete's friend, Mike Schmidt releases a book that details meetings Pete Rose had with MLB officials, including Bud Selig. Pete was assured that his reinstatement would be considered so long as he admitted his guilt and apologized for allowing this cloud to hang over the baseball world. I would have never made this deal, you see I believe in the rule of law and the rules state that if you bet on baseball you are out of the game. But the rule of law should include that a person has the right to the assumption of innocence and the protection from self-incrimination. Bud Selig and his cronies enticed Rose to incriminate himself with the bargain that it will get him reinstated to baseball. Pete Rose lived up to his side of the deal but Selig still refuses to consider reinstatement. According to Schmidt, "He (Selig) told me he got the confession he had expected, but not the expression of genuine remorse he had hoped for."

One has to wonder what Selig considers an expression of genuine remorse, for that matter, what makes him qualified to recognize true remorse. At this point I have to believe that Pete was duped. Nothing Pete could have done would have satisfied Bud Selig and MLB. They never really intended to reinstate Pete Rose in the first place, regardless of how much remorse Rose showed or didn't show. All they were concerned with was that they got Pete to admit to the public that he lied as a means to stop all the urging from his fans to bring Rose back into the game. Shame on you Bud Selig, for as righteous as you think you are in that lofty perch called the Commissioner's Office you are no better than Pete Rose. The gamble that Pete took that Selig's word was worth more than his own was a bet that Pete lost.

Moving on up.....

Not many people can take being called a "honkey" or a "cracker" but Tom Willis, George Jefferson's neighbor, took it all with a smile.

Franklin Cover
1928-2006

Wendy Wasserstien

I think it was 1990-91 when I saw a production of Wendy Wasserstien's Heidi Chronicles. It was a great production of a great play. In the 1989 Pulitzer Prize winner Wendy Wasserman chronicled the life of Heidi Holland, an art historian. Through a series of art lectures episodes of her life are recounted, beginning at her high school senior prom in the 60's and followed her experiences until the late '80's. While the play explores feminism and it's changing nature, it's really about Heidi's struggle for self-identification. We see a person looking back at the choices one makes in life, some going with the grain, others going against. We see a person whose life seems fulfilled but is still unhappy and other times someone that seems happy but still recognizes something is missing.

Critics of the play label it a feminist work. Feminist critics label it an anti-feminist piece. That's perfect, because it's these contridictions, some imposed on us, some we impose on ourselves that Wendy Wasserstein was teaching us about.

Occasionally something will happen outside of the normal routine that triggers memories of not only how I got here, but why. After watching The Heidi Chronicles was one of those moments, and this weekend learning that Wendy Wasserstien passed away was another.

Born on this day.....

"They said I was such a great prospect that they were sending me to a winter league to sharpen up. When I stepped off the plane, I was in Greenland." - Bob Uecker

Happy Birthday to Bob Uecker!